The Hive - Cruft PBEM (Japan, Scen 2 Beta + Stacking Limits)

[Captain Cruft]

30 July 1943

The P-47D is an evil beastie. The only bright spot is I don't think he gets that many of them at this point. Not sure exactly what the rate is.

I managed to shoot down 6 today but it cost nearly 30 Tojos with elite pilots to do it. This was pure Sweep against CAP over Moulmein.

Meanwhile, the operation to move reinforcements from China to the Marianas is going well with no losses thus far to subs. I am putting a whole tank division at Guam and a tank brigade at Saipan (both of these are from the fantasy 21st Army), along with additional eng, flak, arty and av support.

[Captain Cruft]

1 Aug 1943
[font="Courier New"]
Supply: 4.046m
HI: 1.447m (16,000 factories)
Fuel: 6.488m
Aircraft: 4,661 (4,391 ready)
Ship losses: 1 x DD, 10 x E, 7 x APD, 13 x SS
[/font]
It's August 1943, and the IJN has still only lost a single DD ...

Score: Japan 20k, Allies 18k (draw)

Roi-Namur got bombarded for the first time. He can basically do what he wants in the Marshalls now. I am just evacuating the high value units by air.

Here is the Ships Sunk list:-

[Captain Cruft]

3 Aug 1943

The USN BBs have now turned their attention to Roi-Namur. It is holding up quite well, having a lot of supply really seems to help. The AV is way too low to stop on invasion though regardless. One Nav Gd unit and the 6th Base Force ...

More importantly, I have turned off all Refineries in the Home Islands except for the one at Yokohama. Fuel for HI is really not an issue at the moment and I want to assure long-term mobility for the fleet. Having on Oil stockpile seems a good way to do this.

In a related moved, part of the KB is now on the high seas for the first time in a long while. I will report back if and when it has achieved its mission (or perhaps been sunk).

[Captain Cruft]

4 Aug 1943

Over in Burma the cheeky Brits have advanced to Bassein. I am trying to get my Oscars from Thailand to have a go at them but the weather keeps preventing it.

I will not cross the river to attack, much better to just sit in comfort at Rangoon and wait for them to come at me.

Note: I have Southern Army at Bangkok with 100 prep points for Rangoon, and a commander with very high Land skill. Hopefully this will give me a combat bonus in the battles for the city, however as I really don't understand how this works properly it remains to be seen.

[Captain Cruft]

A Dinah fighter unit protecting Bangkok from potential 4E menace. They have not been in action yet and will probably not perform very well but I want to actually confirm this.

[Captain Cruft]

My one and only Tony unit. Unfortunately I completely removed all Kawasaki engine production early on so am having to ramp up again from scratch. This means that the unit is filling out very slowly. However, in their one combat experience to date I was quite pleased with them.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

4 Aug 1943

Over in Burma the cheeky Brits have advanced to Bassein. I am trying to get my Oscars from Thailand to have a go at them but the weather keeps preventing it.

I will not cross the river to attack, much better to just sit in comfort at Rangoon and wait for them to come at me.

Note: I have Southern Army at Bangkok with 100 prep points for Rangoon, and a commander with very high Land skill. Hopefully this will give me a combat bonus in the battles for the city, however as I really don't understand how this works properly it remains to be seen.

You should see a good defense if the Southern Army is prepped and in range and if your nits are also prepped for Rangoon. It will help most if you also have a Corp HQ prepped and in the city or in Pegu in range as well.

Just a note about trying massed Oscars against 43 Brit AA. I know this is a key to your strategy. Largely because of your interest in it I tried a combined attack with Oscars and Nicks one day on an Allied stack in the clear. It was not pretty. I lost about 45 Nicks and 35 Oscars, which was about 60% of the strike! [X(]

I think the naval application will still be really useful, although the flak increases have really made that tougher too, but I might stick to bombing from 10-12k for now against land targets as I can't imagine sustaining those losses. I could see using this later though on flanking moves by unsupported armor, and I still have a good group of pilots trained up in low ground if I need them.

A Dinah fighter unit protecting Bangkok from potential 4E menace. They have not been in action yet and will probably not perform very well but I want to actually confirm this.

I decided not to make this, but I'm really interested in how it goes for you.

My one and only Tony unit. Unfortunately I completely removed all Kawasaki engine production early on so am having to ramp up again from scratch. This means that the unit is filling out very slowly. However, in their one combat experience to date I was quite pleased with them.

I've also been happy with the Tony for a point defense interceptor. I'm up to the service 2 Ki-61-Id now, and that is a pretty good plane if still a bit slow.

[Captain Cruft]

Along with Southern Army I have Burma Area Army at Moulmein and 15th Army at Rangoon itself, all 100% prepped for Rangoon and with very good Land commanders. The city is stacked with two full-strength quality divisions and has fort level 6 (not building).

What I always wonder is whether you get any of these supposed combat bonuses if they aren't shown in the report?

[Captain Cruft]

5 Aug 1943

Finally some Oscars take to the air ... I can only assume that the 268th Motorised Brigade is a bit short of flak guns.

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Afternoon Air attack on 268th Motorised Brigade, at 54,52 (Bassein)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 126

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
70 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 43 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 39 (2 destroyed, 37 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
29 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
29 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
24 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
19 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
25 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bassein is now in Allied hands so I am going to try for a combined airfield and ground attack next turn.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

5 Aug 1943

Finally some Oscars take to the air ... I can only assume that the 268th Motorised Brigade is a bit short of flak guns.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 268th Motorised Brigade, at 54,52 (Bassein)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 17 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 4 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 126

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 damaged
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 1 destroyed by flak

Allied ground losses:
70 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 23 disabled
Non Combat: 1 destroyed, 43 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 39 (2 destroyed, 37 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
29 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
29 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
24 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
19 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
25 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bassein is now in Allied hands so I am going to try for a combined airfield and ground attack next turn.

[:D]

It seems you're correct.

[Captain Cruft]

6 Aug 1943

More ordnance is delivered at Bassein and now Prome as well. This will increase next turn. I've even taken the remaining Sallies and Helens out of the broom cupboard for one last hurrah.

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Morning Air attack on 268th Motorised Brigade, at 54,52 (Bassein)

Weather in hex: Heavy rain

Raid spotted at 13 NM, estimated altitude 6,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 56

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 5 damaged

Allied ground losses:
23 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 3 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Aircraft Attacking:
27 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

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Morning Air attack on Prome , at 55,50

Weather in hex: Clear sky

Raid detected at 26 NM, estimated altitude 2,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 7 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-45 KAIa Nick x 36

Allied aircraft
no flights

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 28 damaged
Ki-45 KAIa Nick: 4 destroyed by flak

Allied aircraft losses
P-40K Warhawk: 14 damaged
P-40K Warhawk: 1 destroyed on ground
P-400 Airacobra: 2 damaged
P-400 Airacobra: 1 destroyed on ground
Hurricane PR.II: 1 damaged

Allied ground losses:
14 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled
Non Combat: 0 destroyed, 2 disabled
Engineers: 0 destroyed, 0 disabled

Airbase hits 14
Airbase supply hits 1
Runway hits 46

Aircraft Attacking:
34 x Ki-45 KAIa Nick bombing from 100 feet
Airfield Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Afternoon Air attack on 268th Motorised Brigade, at 54,52 (Bassein)

Weather in hex: Severe storms

Raid spotted at 16 NM, estimated altitude 3,000 feet.
Estimated time to target is 3 minutes

Japanese aircraft
Ki-43-IIb Oscar x 82

Japanese aircraft losses
Ki-43-IIb Oscar: 2 damaged

Allied ground losses:
62 casualties reported
Squads: 0 destroyed, 6 disabled
Non Combat: 2 destroyed, 10 disabled
Engineers: 1 destroyed, 2 disabled
Vehicles lost 9 (2 destroyed, 7 disabled)

Aircraft Attacking:
24 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb
29 x Ki-43-IIb Oscar bombing from 100 feet
Ground Attack: 2 x 250 kg GP Bomb

[Captain Cruft]

7 Aug 1943

Air war over Burma and Thailand. I can't keep this up for ever obviously.

[Captain Cruft]

9 Aug 1943

A Ki-43-IIb Oscar shot down a P-47D2 today over Chiang Mai. I cheered ...

The day as a whole went quite well - we managed to trade at 2 for 1 which is easily the best ratio so far against the evil Pug beasties.

For reference I am currently producing 180 a month each of the Tojo and Oscar.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

9 Aug 1943

A Ki-43-IIb Oscar shot down a P-47D2 today over Chiang Mai. I cheered ...

The day as a whole went quite well - we managed to trade at 2 for 1 which is easily the best ratio so far against the evil Pug beasties.

For reference I am currently producing 180 a month each of the Tojo and Oscar.

Do you have altitude restrictions in your game? What were the settings for your groups and what height did the Jugs come in at? Shooting down 29 in a day is very good to say the least.

[Captain Cruft]

The rule is no Sweep or CAP at more than 5k above the max manouver rating altitude.

I think the Pugs (Jugs?) come in at over 30,000ft, I don't even look to be honest. If you ask me as to why I did so well last turn it is likely because he is basing them well back due to fear of the Oscar Swarm, and therefore having to use max range to get over Thailand. He rarely sends them in two days in a row but this time he did so the fatigue may well have been quite high.

My CAP setting is always 30%, I don't remember what the altitude settings were. Mostly under 20,000ft though.

[obvert]

ORIGINAL: Captain Cruft

The rule is no Sweep or CAP at more than 5k above the max manouver rating altitude.

I think the Pugs (Jugs?) come in at over 30,000ft, I don't even look to be honest. If you ask me as to why I did so well last turn it is likely because he is basing them well back due to fear of the Oscar Swarm, and therefore having to use max range to get over Thailand. He rarely sends them in two days in a row but this time he did so the fatigue may well have been quite high.

My CAP setting is always 30%, I don't remember what the altitude settings were. Mostly under 20,000ft though.

Thanks! Makes sense. Swarm keeps em at bay!

About the 'Jugs.'

Here is one quote about the origin of the name.

[font="Trebuchet MS"]My article "The Best Fighter Planes of World War II" has attracted more than its share of e-mail from readers. A significant part of that mail has suggested that I should have included the P-47 Thunderbolt instead of, or in addition to, the P-51 Mustang. One of those correspondents was Rip Collins, a WW II fighter pilot who flew both the Mustang and the Thunderbolt, and made a strong case for the latter. Rip and I corresponded back and forth, and the result is this article.
I (Chuck Hawks) volunteered to write the introduction, a brief history of the most significant P-47 variants, and research the basic specifications. Rip will provide the insight only a pilot who actually flew this great fighter in combat can provide, as well as explain why he feels the "Jug" (short for "Juggernaut," which is what many pilots called the P-47) was the best American fighter plane of WW II.[/font]

http://www.chuckhawks.com/p47.htm

Here is another!

By the end of 1942 P-47Cs were sent to England for combat operations. The initial Thunderbolt flyers, 56th Fighter Group, was sent overseas to join the 8th Air Force. As the P-47 Thunderbolt worked up to operational status, it gained a nickname: the "Jug" (because its profile was similar to that of a common milk jug of the time).[N 4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_P-47_Thunderbolt#cite_note-22

[Captain Cruft]

Why am I calling them Pugs? LOL

[Saros]

If it didn't get answered already Type 3 mines are apparently air dropped IJN mines. I have never used them however so I don't know if they actually work. Apparently they are available to Netty squads through the city attack option in 1943 sometime.

[Captain Cruft]

10 Aug 1943

I managed to pull off an inadvertent ambush over Rangoon. It was inadvertent because the Nicks were supposed to be LRCAPing Moulmein. Not sure what happened but I'm not complaining.

[Captain Cruft]

We shot down 14 of the 4E beasties for the loss of a single Nick.